Microsoft Acquires Sunrise→

After a few weeks of speculation, Microsoft has confirmed they have acquired popular calendar app Sunrise, which will remain free and join the company’s existing set of mobile apps.

Rajesh Jha writes on the Microsoft blog:

I’m pleased to announce that Microsoft has acquired Sunrise, provider of a next-generation calendar app for iOS and Android. We are making this acquisition because we believe a reinvention in the way people use calendars on mobile devices is long overdue. Our goal is to better help people manage and make the most of their time in a mobile-first, cloud-first world.

This is another step forward on our journey to reinvent productivity and empower every person and organization to achieve more. Today’s acquisition of Sunrise, our recent acquisition of Acompli, and our new touch-optimized universal Office apps for Windows 10 all exemplify Microsoft’s ambition to rethink the productivity category. Our goal is to create more meaningful, beautiful experiences in mobile email and calendaring across all platforms. And as you will hear in the video below, the creative talent and fresh thinking at Sunrise and Acompli will make a lasting impact on the Microsoft family as we seek to reinvent productivity.

I’m a fan of Sunrise and I like what Microsoft has been doing lately. Yes, Microsoft hasn’t built Acompli and Sunrise in the first place (and that’s another problem), but at least they’re spending money to acquire quality apps that can help them catch up in the mobile space. Outlook is well done (I’m using it every day; I love the Focused Inbox and calendar integration) and Sunrise is, in my opinion, the best multi-platform calendar app Microsoft could ask for.

I wrote about Sunrise last year, and I still use the app for two reasons: its elegant design and integration with external services. Sunrise is unique in its ability to show tasks from my Todoist account alongside calendar events; the same applies to Evernote reminders, upcoming Songkick concerts, and even Trello todos.

Sunrise shows me all the things I need to do in a single place, and Microsoft should keep this aspect intact.

It seems fair to assume that Microsoft will add more cloud integrations from their own ecosystem (OneNote, Exchange, perhaps Skype?), but I’m curious to see if and how Sunrise will work with Outlook, which comes with an embedded Calendar view.

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Smartphone Thefts Dropping Thanks to Kill Switches→

Sharon Bernstein, reporting for Reuters:

Thefts involving smartphones have declined dramatically in three major cities since manufacturers began implementing “kill switches” that allow the phones to be turned off remotely if they are stolen, authorities said on Tuesday.

The number of stolen iPhones dropped by 40 percent in San Francisco and 25 percent in New York in the 12 months after Apple Inc added a kill switch to its devices in September 2013. In London, smartphone theft dropped by half, according to an announcement by officials in the three cities.

Speaking from personal experience, the number of people (friends of friends) who ask me about an iPhone “they found” has also dropped. Activation Lock is an important software feature and it’s good to know it’s having a meaningful impact.

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Saver 2 for iPhone Review

This week saw the release of Saver 2, a big update to the personal finance and expense tracking iPhone app from Alex Solonsky and Vadim Shpakovski. I reviewed the original Saver nearly four years ago, and whilst the core of the app is very similar, the new features and completely refreshed and modernised design make Saver 2 a lot better.

There are quite a few personal finance apps available these days and it’s important to know that Saver, an iPhone-only app, is one that won’t be for everyone. For example, you won’t be reconciling multiple bank accounts – that’s just not how Saver works. But at the same time, don’t think of Saver as just a barebones tool: it is far more than that and will work terrifically for many people. This is particularly true if you purchase one of Saver’s subscriptions which add a bunch of advanced features (more on that later).

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Ten Years of Google Maps→

Great story by Liz Gannes on the first decade of Google Maps and its impact on society and technology.

I’d add this: as we enter the wearable era of mobile, it’ll be interesting to see how each platform owner will leverage the wrist screen space for mapping.

Apple is going to put at-a-glance directions on the Watch, and, as I assume the Maps integration will be deeper than what is going to be allowed to third-parties with WatchKit, that may be enough to make me reconsider my daily usage of Apple Maps.

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Photos for OS X and Pros→

Serenity Caldwell on Apple’s new Photos app for OS X:

See, true professionals know what they like, and can seek it out from Apple’s programs or elsewhere. But new users? They don’t know what they like, or what they need. They don’t know what the difference between an aperture and shutter speed is, or why that’s important. They just want to be able to take good pictures and make them look good for Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, cards, you name it. They want it to be easy.

Bingo. I may be an “advanced user” of some aspects of iOS, but when it comes to photography I don’t understand half of the terminology involved with prosumer photo apps.

I don’t know what kind of precise improvements my photos need. But I know what I want from my photo app – the simple ability to take a picture and have a single copy on all my devices. This is why I could never get into the idea of “processing” my photos: a picture is either good or bad for me, and the basic editing tools in the Photos app for iOS are enough for my needs.

As I wrote before, iCloud Photo Library is shaping up to be exactly what I want from iOS and OS X for photo management and lightweight editing.

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Igloo: An Intranet You’ll Actually Like [Sponsor]

Why invest in the latest, sleekest devices if you are going to use them to stare at an intranet website that looks like it was built in the 90’s?

Not only can Igloo be customized to look exactly like your brand, but with its responsive design, it’s automatically optimized for almost any device you’re using, including the latest iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. And just like your favourite Apple devices, Igloo helps you do your best work.

Share files, coordinate calendars, provide status updates and manage projects. Igloo’s not just for your traditional intranet stuff like HR policies and expense forms. It also lets you work better together with your teams. And it keeps getting better.

Our latest upgrade, Viking, gives you more control over how you interact with documents, gather feedback and make changes. We’ve even added the ability to track who has read critical information (like read receipts in your email, but less annoying) to keep everyone on the same page.

Not convinced yet? We understand love doesn’t happen overnight. If you sign up now, we will let you try our platform for free for as long as you want.

Our thanks to Igloo for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Apple Debuts ‘Make Music’ Advert for the iPad Air 2

Coinciding with Sunday’s Grammy Awards, Apple debuted a new iPad Air 2 advert with a focus on music creation. Featuring recording artist Elliphant, producer Riton, DJ The Gaslamp Killer and director So Me, the advert is a 60 second montage of the ‘All or Nothing’ remix being written, produced, performed and filmed on the iPad Air 2.

iPad is changing how we live, work, and create more and more each day. For recording artist Elliphant, it’s liberating her to make music in a radical new way. And whether she’s writing lyrics at home or recording on the road, iPad has become an essential part of her process. It was even used by director So Me to shoot this film.

Like most of Apple’s recent adverts, they’ve set up a page on their website with more information about the advert and those featured in it. As noted on the page, the apps featured in this advert are GarageBand, iMPC Pro, NanoStudio, Serato Remote and Manual Camera.

We’ve embedded the advert below, but you can also view it on Apple’s website and on YouTube.
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Reasons for Web Automation

I’ve been thinking a lot about web automation and whether I should keep investing time and money into IFTTT and Zapier when I can’t seem to find problems that need to be fixed. For years, I fiddled with web automation, recipes, and connecting services together, but I’ve never really relied on web automation and I feel like I experimented with it because I liked the idea on principle.

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